Bring on the Night
by setr
Summary: Somethings different and he doesn't like it one bit. Why the sudden change and what does it mean? Zoro/Nami rating might go up later
1. Strange Behaviour

_A brand new story because someone requested more ZoNa and this came out instead of a drabble._

**Strange Behaviour and Inexplicable Compassion**

Zoro muttered every profanity he knew under his breath as he hacked at the tangerine bushes. The stupid sea-witch had roped him into trimming her precious tangerine bushes waking him from his nap to do so. It was days like these that Zoro wished he had never borrowed money from the demon lady to begin with, he didn't like being in debt to anyone and Nami had to be the worst person to be indebted to in the entire universe.

Not only was he napping he had been napping because it was brutally hot out. The sun beat down on his bare shoulders and Zoro cursed some more. This was ridiculous, her stupid bushes could have waited another few hours for the sun to set some but no she had demanded he do them now and for every minute he refused she would double his debt.

"Watch it Zoro! You nearly took off a good branch. If you ruin any of my precious trees I will raise your debt so much that all the treasure in the world wouldn't cover it."

"Oi! It's too hot out why can't I just do it later."

"Because I said so."

"Witch"

Nami glared daggers at him and he knew he was treading on thin ice here, Nami didn't need much of a reason to slap on more debts and he was handing them out to her carelessly. Yet she didn't so much as mention an increase in the ridiculous amount of beli he currently owed her. Instead she simply spun on her heel and disappeared into her map room. With a shrug Zoro went back to pruning the trees.

Nami didn't come back out and bother him the rest of the time.

When he finished Zoro stretched out under the shade of the mast and went to sleep without further thought about Nami or her demands. She didn't cross his mind again until dinner when he ended up sitting across from her at the table. Sanji was flitting around her and Robin as usual and Zoro ignored it focusing on his meal and eating the food before Luffy had a chance to steal it. He wasn't paying attention to the rest of the members of their small crew and nearly bit his tongue when he felt a soft nudge against his leg. He looked over to his side but Chopper was beside him and definitely couldn't reach his feet. Then another nudge came, this one harder, more of a kick really and he turned to see Nami staring at him pointedly.

"What?" he snapped.

"Thank you for doing the tangerines." She said softly.

Before Zoro could react she had turned and asked Sanji for some more tea. Zoro couldn't help but notice a hint of something different in her voice as she calmly thanked the twirling cook. There was an underlying edge that he could just barely pick up on; intrigued he spent the rest of the dinner surreptitiously watching her. He began to notice little things like how she pushed her food around on her plate more than eating it allowing Luffy to continuously steal tidbits from it. She also seemed slightly dazed and Robin would often have to repeat things and she would only give short non-committal responses. Then he remembered her lack of vigilance throughout his chore and he began to worry about her.

The thought of her being sick or something along those lines bothered him and he felt an inexplicable compassion for the navigator welling up inside of him. This struck him as the oddest of all. Since when did he care that much about her? Sure she was his nakama and he wanted her safe and healthy but there was a difference between that and noticing all these little inconspicuous things that were off.

Something was wrong and Zoro didn't like it one bit.


	2. Confusing Realizations

**Confusing Realizations and Denied Feelings**

Days went by seemingly seamlessly and as per usual there wasn't a dull day aboard the Thousand Sunny. There was the occasional marine attack and some rapidly changing weather that tested the ship's strength and the navigator's skill but the Stawhats pulled through without too much damage. Before he realized it a week had passed since Nami had demanded that he trim her precious trees.

Throughout the week Zoro had been careful to observe Nami's behaviours and moods. He was determined to get to the bottom of the problem. It startled him how much he wanted to figure it out but he eased his mind my telling himself it was simply his competitive nature and love of challenges. If it had been anyone else on the ship he would be doing the same thing.

He had determined that it wasn't an illness at least not as far as he could tell since there were times when she seemed fine and she never seemed weak. It was as if there was something distracting her most of the time, her mind was too busy focusing on something to properly categorize everything going on around her. To Zoro's mind Nami seemed distant and as a result slightly more soft around the edges.

That wasn't to say that she didn't make him or the others do any chores, as usual they all had cleaning and general upkeep jobs to keep them busy during the slow hours. The difference that Zoro noticed was the manner in which she asked them to be done. As far back as she had been a part of the crew Nami had more or less ordered the haphazard pirate crew to do certain chores, within the last week however her commands were coming out more as suggestions to Zoro's ear. Normally he would have taken them as just that, a suggestion but his concern for her was so great that he wouldn't argue so he didn't have to watch the painful void of her presence in the argument.

Zoro never would have dreamed it possible but he actually found himself missing her regular bossy attitude. The ship wasn't the same without Nami barking out orders left and right. While he missed the orders he was equally surprised to discover he didn't miss watching her twist Sanji around her finger with pretty words lacking in sincerity.

It had always been a secret amusement of his watching the ero-cook get used so thoroughly in such an innocent way. He might not get along with the cook but he was his nakama so the fact that Nami's control over him came to no harm was a relief but he couldn't deny he enjoyed seeing it. So why was he all of a sudden relieved when she stopped batting those big chocolate eyes at the pervert?

His gaze drifted to Nami as if she might miraculously present him with the solution to all of his dilemmas and instead all of the confusion simply intensified. She was currently stretched out on a deck chair asleep in the sun. While most days she would look peaceful while she slept today her brow was furrowed ever so slightly and her body was rigid despite the slumber. His eyes took in her slender frame and he felt a slight stirring from within, he hadn't felt a stirring like this in a long time. Shaking his head he cursed himself for his unwanted attraction while Nami was so obviously vulnerable.

"Zoro no! Wait!"

Zoro jerked his attention back to Nami as her voice cut across the deck. She suddenly jerked upright her eyes wide and she frantically glanced around the deck. When her eyes landed on him her face flushed bright red and he realized that she had woken from a dream in which he had clearly been featuring. She looked around nervously chewing on her bottom lip.

"It's not what you think."

"And what is it that I think?" Zoro replied curious.

"It was simply a nightmare. You refused to pay me back for any of the money you owe me and I couldn't do anything." Nami said quickly stammering only slightly.

Zoro nodded his head and tossed her a glare so she'd think he believed her before turning his head away being sure to keep her in his peripherals. Nami let out a deep breath her hand fluttering to her chest and Zoro saw a sadness to her features that pained him. He didn't believe her story about a nightmare. If it had to do with not getting her money Nami would be angry and instead her voice rang out full of pain and despair. Zoro couldn't help but feel guilty since it was probably something her dream version of him had done that had caused the pain. He knew it made no sense and he couldn't be held responsible for things that someone else dreamed and yet the guilt remained.

Zoro couldn't nap for the rest of the day his mind too busy whirling around pointless guilt, staggering concern and other unprecedented emotions he wasn't ready to categorize quite yet. It was almost a relief when Sanji called for dinner and he could let his mind go amidst the usual chaos any meal time caused with Monkey D. Luffy. Zoro pushed all of his thoughts and worries out of his tired mind and simply focused on eating his food quickly and guarding his plate from his impossibly hungry captain. He forced himself not to monitor Nami which was going well up until the stupid ero-cook had to open his mouth and ruin it all.

"Nami-swan why aren't you eating? Is something wrong?"

Zoro's attention was then 100 on the navigator as simple as that. He noticed that she had given up any pretence of eating and hadn't even touched her food save for perhaps a bite or two. She looked weary and once again semi-dazed. Slowly she lifted her eyes to meet Sanji's a tired grin forced upon her face.

"Sorry Sanji-kun I'm just not feeling that great today."

"Can I have your food then?" Luffy asked only to be kicked in the head by the cook.

"You look kind of beat why don't you go lie down." Zoro suggested calmly.

Nami looked startled to hear from him but recovered quickly nodding her head at his suggestion.

"I have watch tonight so I'll just lie down for a few hours."

"Maybe someone else could take your shift Navigator-san."

"No I can do it. I just need to lie down for a bit."

Nami seemed determined to not give away her shift so finally the others agreed knowing there was no point in arguing with her. Zoro watched her get up from the table and walk out of the galley presumably heading to her room for a short nap.

Several hours later Nami hadn't re-emerged from her room and the rest of the crew came to the decision that they would let her sleep and Zoro volunteered to take over her shift. He grabbed a thermos of coffee that Sanji had made for the night and was about to head up to the crow's nest when said cook stopped him.

"Oi marimo."

"What do you want ero-cook?"

"I made a soup for Nami-swan if she gets up in the night at all. It is in the fridge and only needs to go on the stove for a few minutes to heat up."

"Why are you telling me this? Why don't you just write her some stupid love note or something telling her so."

"Watch your mouth kelpy. I'm telling you so that you can get it for her in case she still isn't feeling well. Do you think you can manage that or do you need step by step directions?"

"Do you wanna go?"

Zoro reached for his katana at the same time as Sanji raised his leg both poised to either attack or defend depending on the other. Zoro would have unleashed the first blow, any excuse to blow off some steam at this point was good but they were interrupted by Robin strolling into the galley. Sanji immediately lowered his leg to better swoon after her.

"Cook-san perhaps you and Swordsman-san could continue this another time. It is probably best not to wake Navigator-san."

Zoro scowled because he knew she was right and collecting his thermos off the ground left the galley muttering about crazy women messing up his schedule.


	3. Plans

**Plans and Feelings**

Observing her wasn't working. Zoro had been watching her for weeks and the only thing he knew for sure was that something was definitely wrong. If he wanted to find out what this thing was that was bothering her he was going to have to take a more aggressive approach. The way he saw it her had two options, he could give up and hope that whatever it was would go away while it continued to eat at her and potentially cause some irreversible damage. The other option was to take an aggressive approach. Zoro was no quitter so he came up with a plan.

It wasn't a great plan, in fact it was simple and not very complicated and if you looked at it closely, full of holes. But he hadn't put much thought into it and was more going with instinct than anything else. So when Nami settled in for her night watch Zoro crept out of the men's quarters with stealth, being careful to not wake up any of the other guys, least of all the shitty love-cook. He didn't bother putting his boots on, he could be quiet with them but it was easier without. So barefooted he stole across the deck and slowly made his way up in to the crow's nest.

Zoro was barely able to contain his gasp when he lifted the hatch. There in front of him sat Nami, her knees were up and she was hugging them to her chest. She stared out into the sky with a wistful look on her face and her eyes seemed suspiciously bright. There was a layer of goose bumps covering her tanned skin and he wished he had brought a blanket. After a moment, not wanting to get caught staring, things between them were awkward enough as it was, he cleared his throat announcing his presence. Her head whipped around startled and she let out a small cry .

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." Zoro mumbled.

"You didn't. I was just surprised that's all. What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to ask you a question."

"It couldn't wait till the morning? What is it?"

"I was wondering what had been bothering you for the last few weeks."

His question seemed to throw her but he thought he saw something that looked suspiciously like hope well up in her eyes. He couldn't help thinking that her eyes made him think of caramel being stirred into chocolate.

"Why do you care?" she asked her voice even, but it was a hard fought evenness.

Zoro wasn't sure what to say. "It was a challenge" didn't seem to be the right thing and he doubted she would appreciate hearing that.

"Because we're nakama. And that's what friends do."

It was true enough and he figured that's what she wanted to hear. He didn't notice the hope that died with his words but he realized she was shutting herself off from him, closing in on herself even further.

"I'm fine, I just haven't been sleeping well. I'll be better in a day or two." Nami replied with forced coldness.

Zoro didn't believe a word she said, this was more than just lack of sleep and even if that's only what it was, what had been bothering her enough to keep her up for weeks on end. Either way he recognized her dismissal so he bid her goodnight and slipped out of the crow's nest. He made his way back to his cold, empty hammock and fell into a fitful sleep.

Clearly his aggressive approach had backfired. He should have seen that the biggest and most obvious flaw in his plan was that it required Nami to be honest and forth-coming with her problem. It seemed that that wasn't going to be the case so Zoro needed a new plan to solve this issue. As he robotically went through his exercise regime he pondered a way to get through to her.

The problem was that Zoro liked things to be straightforward. He didn't need any of this mind games bullshit. He recognized that Nami was hurting and shouldn't that be enough for the woman? He had asked, why couldn't she just share her problems and let him or someone else help her out. Zoro knew that the vixen of a navigator was stubborn, when she set her mind to something it was pretty much good as done. While that might be true Zoro was equally stubborn and right now he was determined to find out what was bothering her whether she wanted him to or not.

He waited until late afternoon, Sanji would be in the kitchen preparing dinner by then so his plan wouldn't be foiled by one of his idiotic love shows. As soon as he saw her head off to her map room he jumped up and followed after her, knowing that it might be his only chance to get her alone. He stalked into the small room, shutting the door firmly behind him.

"Zoro? What are you doing?"

"Why did you lie to me?"

"Lie to you? What are you talking about?"

"Last night you said it was lack of sleep but I don't believe it."

"Why would I lie to you about that? I'm just tired, could you please go."

"Fine, you haven't been sleeping well. Why?"

"What?"

"Why can't you sleep? What is bothering you?"

"..."

"Is it nightmares? Insomnia? Some kind of sickness?"

"I-I I don't know."

"Have you seen Chopper?"

"Why would I see Chopper?"

"Because he's a doctor, maybe he can give something to help you sleep."

"Oh yeah. If I go talk to him will you leave it be?"

"Sure"

"Fine I'll talk to him after dinner. Now leave."

Zoro backed out of the map room, not feeling any better about the situation. He had noticed several crumpled half-finished maps littering the floor around her desk and it bothered him on some core level. There was something fundamentally different with Nami. It wasn't like her to mess up or not finish maps, nor was it like her to use words like 'please' around him. The few times she said please it was with a sickening falseness and merely rubbed in the fact that he was being manipulated. He waited for the usual anger that accompanied thoughts of her manipulation but it never came. Instead there was a begrudging respect, almost amusement at how much control she had managed to have over him without even trying too much.

These new sentiments shook him hard and he felt like he had been punched in the stomach. Feeling slightly nauseous and gasping for breath, Zoro staggered to the edge of the ship, staring into the water they were slicing through without effort. Where had all of his carefully constructed disdain, annoyance and irritation gone? Swearing he determined now more than ever he had to get to the bottom of this so that things would go back to normal. These new feelings had to be pushed away, locked down before they had the chance to become permanent.


	4. Unveiled Feelings

**Unveiled Feelings and Fears**

Nami stared blankly at the door to her map room. Her brain was still trying to process what had just happened and sort out the conversation she had had. Lying to Zoro was getting harder and apparently she wasn't doing a good job of it either. She had the distinct feeling that he hadn't believed a word she had said which both bothered her and excited her at the same time. Nami knew how to lie. Usopp might be the liar on the ship but Nami could weave a tale with a false sincerity that fooled the best of men yet Zoro didn't seem to be falling for her lines. She told herself it was only because he had caught her completely off guard. It wasn't like him to notice or even care.

"I'm his nakama. Nakama, that's it." She told herself firmly.

He had said so himself so there was no reason for her to be acting like this. She knew she had been distracted of late but she hadn't quite realized how bad it had been until Zoro had approached her in the crow's nest. Nami had felt his eyes on her quite often over the past few weeks but she had simply chalked it up to her over-active and hopeful imagination. Nami couldn't believe that Zoro pitied her, because that had to be why he was asking all these questions. Nami did not want anyone's pity, least of all his. His pity robbed her of all of her dignity and if Arlong couldn't do it then she'd be damned if the lazy, cocky swordsman would.

Her new found anger and indignation gave her some fire and she felt her mood lifting. While the indignation was fuelling her she finished up the map she had been struggling with for the last week. When Sanji called everyone for dinner she was feeling much better and even spent the dinner talking with Robin.

Zoro didn't know what had happened to Nami, he didn't know what had been bothering her and he didn't know why she was all of a sudden fine. He watched her throughout dinner, she was chatting with Robin a light smile on her face and there was a focus in her eyes that had been missing of late. But as the dinner wore on the focus faded ever so slightly and while she continued to talk with Robin, Zoro noticed a sadness creeping in around the edges. That's when everything started to click into place.

Zoro knew that it wasn't a sickness that was keeping Nami up and distracted, there was something that was saddening her enough to preoccupy her mind. His entire being was screaming that it was him that was upsetting her, he didn't know why but it was a feeling he couldn't shake. He thought back to her nightmare that had featured him and guilt roiled in his stomach causing the food in his mouth to taste like chalk.

He thought of the nightmare's that Luffy would occasionally have, nightmares in which he was powerless to help anybody or protect them. Could Nami's nightmares be along the same lines? The desire to help her welled up in him greater than ever, fuelled by the unnecessary guilt and he decided after dinner to give it one more go. He ate the rest of his dinner automatically, keeping an eye on her the whole time. Once the meal was finished he pulled her aside to talk to her in privacy.

"What's going on Zoro?" she asked a bit of fire in her voice.

"I'm worried about you and I want to help."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Nami replied her voice faltering slightly.

"Nami, you can tell me."

Zoro could see the hesitation in her eyes but then with a sigh of defeat her shoulders sank lightly and her eyes focused on her feet. He waited for her answer and this time he had a gut feeling that whatever she said would be the truth.

"I've fallen in love with you."

Zoro heard the words and knew them to be true but it took a few seconds for the understanding of them to sink in. In the time it took his shocked brain to process Nami's words she had closed herself off to him and walked away. Zoro stood there staring at the spot she had disappeared while not seeing his surroundings. The unsettling feelings he had been trying to ignore before dinner came back stronger than before and it occurred to him there was a slight euphoria welling within him with Nami's confession.

The euphoria came as a shock to him, how was it possible for him to have such an intense feeling of happiness over the news that she was in love with him. It couldn't make him happy, he didn't feel that way about her so this shouldn't make him happy. And to top it all off she clearly wasn't too happy to be falling in love with him. He thought back to her nightmare and instinctively knew it had been about her feelings for him and he was overcome with a fresh wave of guilt for making such acute pain enter her voice. As he thought about her nightmare he realized that it didn't matter whether he liked her or not, Nami deserved someone better than him. She deserved someone who was whole and could offer her a real relationship. Nightmare or reality Zoro could only bring her pain.

Zoro regretfully tracked Nami down, finding her sitting amongst her tangerine trees knees hugged to her chest. He cleared his throat and watched as her head whipped around her eyes guarded. Her chin jutted out defiantly and he could see the toil it took on her to present this unaffected look and he wished it could be different. But it couldn't and hurting her now would be better than the pain he was sure to cause if he tried to fool himself into thinking they could have a relationship.

"The dream you had the other day. What did I do?" he asked quietly, almost fearing the answer.

"It doesn't matter."

"Please." He whispered softly.

"I confessed my feelings and you... you laughed and said you could never love a girl as tainted as I was."

The words were wrenched out with a silent sob and Zoro's heart constricted and ached for the hurting woman in front of him. Hearing her words only made what he had to say next more painful and once again he wished things could be different because by now he had realized he was in fact in love with the tangerine goddess.

"Nami you are not tainted and you deserve the love of someone great, someone who can offer you happiness but that someone isn't me. It can't be me. I'll only bring you pain."

"You won't, I won't let you. You are great Zoro, if you just give us a chance you'll see."

"I want to believe it but I can't."

Zoro could hear the determination and desperation lacing her voice and he knew that it was going to take more to convince her. With his heart breaking he uttered the words that he knew would break her heart and make her hate him.

"I don't want it too either. I don't want to be with you Nami."

As pain etched into her delicate features Zoro turned and walked away from the one woman he found he could love. The sounds of her painful sobs haunted him as he disappeared into the bowels of the ship.


	5. Nightmares

**Nightmares and Reality**

Zoro walked into Nami's room with a purpose, she was startled to see him and he couldn't blame her. After his speech he shouldn't even look at her yet here he was storming into her room like he had every right to do so. Her surprise gave way to anger and her warm eyes became hard and cold. She stared at him with such coldness that he involuntarily shuddered. This wasn't like her usual anger. Normally when Nami was angry she seethed, there was a heat that radiated from her that was dangerous and volatile. This was worse.

There was no heat coming from her now. She didn't say a word and simply stared at him as if daring him to do something and in that moment Zoro feared her. He had been stupid to think that he could hurt her and simply leave it at that. He had been even stupider to think he could give her up now that he knew he loved her and that she felt the same.

"I'm sorry. I was wrong, I need you. I want you more than life."

His words seemed to soften her and melt the ice that she had so effectively packed around her heart. He continued to apologize until the last of the cold disappeared and warmth returned. He crossed to her and drew her into his arms in a tight embrace. Nami leaned into him and Zoro inhaled her sweet scent hugging her closer.

"Zoro?"

"Yeah?"

"I can't breathe."

He quickly released her and murmured apologetically looking at his feet abashedly. Nami just laughed and kissed him lightly on the lips. Zoro pulled her back to him kissing her deeply and thoroughly. She tasted like his own personal slice of heaven and he couldn't get enough, his tongue delved deeper and he drank in her moans. When they pulled apart her lips were swollen and her eyes hooded. She looked absolutely gorgeous in his opinion and he felt the love swell within him stronger than ever. Softly he pushed the hair out of her face and placed a tender kiss to her forehead.

"Nami, I- I love you."

Nami gasped audibly and her eyes widened in pain. She looked up at him and all that pain was directed at him.

"Zoro... how could you?" Nami gasped weakly before looking down at her chest.

Zoro's eyes followed her gaze and landed on the gaping hole in her chest. Blood was dripping down her shirt a deep crimson stain spreading out across the fabric. Zoro felt something hot in his hand and he looked down to see a heart beating in it. The organ was warm and pulsating as blood dripped in between his fingers and down his arm. His eyes widened in horror and as he glanced between Nami and the heart in his hand. He felt Nami grow cold while the heart in his hand slowly shrivelled up and blackened before his eyes.

Zoro bolted up, nearly falling out of his hammock in the process. He was covered in a cold sweat and his heart was beating erratically. Slowly his heart beat slowed as reality sunk in and his surroundings became clear. It had only been a dream, Nami was safe. Yet he couldn't shake the feeling of unease and her plaintive cry echoed in his head making his stomach turn. Silently he slipped out of the hammock and out of the men's quarters. Up on the deck he took a few calming breaths of the salty air allowing his stomach to settle. Once he was calm he quietly crept to Nami's room. Gently pushing the door open he looked in at her relieved to see her sleeping peacefully one arm flung over her head.

A sliver of light shone through the door softly illuminating her sleeping figure and Zoro was struck by her beauty. His breath caught in his throat and an anger and hatred at himself welled up within him. How he wished things could be different but if his dream had been any indication Nami was better off without him. He was just about to close the door when she cried out.

"Zoro! No!"

Zoro whipped back around and saw her once peaceful features contorted in pain. He fought an internal battle as to whether he should do something or not. In the end he couldn't bear to see her in such pain so he entered her room and crossed to her bed. He placed a hand on her delicate shoulder and gently shook her.

"Nami. Nami wake up."

Slowly her cries died down and the writhing stopped her features softening once again. She didn't wake however and Zoro figured it was probably for the best. He removed his hand and stood up to leave but was stopped by a slim hand on his wrist.

"Please don't go."

Zoro looked over his shoulder but her eyes were still shut. The grip on his arm however didn't loosen and he knew she was in fact awake. Zoro knew he should remove her hand and leave but he couldn't. So instead he nudged her over and slipped under the covers. She immediately curled into him and instinctively he wrapped an arm around her. He held her close as she fell back to sleep. Once he was satisfied that she was indeed in a deep dreamless sleep he pulled the covers up further and drifted off all the while holding her close.

Zoro woke as the sun slowly started its ascent over the Grand Line, shining through the porthole and bathing them in its soft glow. He was slightly startled to see Nami in his arms but slowly the night's events came back to him. She looked so peaceful and content that last night's horror seemed so far away and he struggled to remember why it was that they couldn't be. Zoro watched her until she stirred observing the sleep slowly release her, he was curious as to what her reaction would be under the harsh light of day.

Nami blinked sleep out of her eyes and smiled up at him softly and he was relieved that her reaction didn't include bodily mutilation of any sort. She let out a soft yawn moving to cover her mouth with a delicate hand before returning it to its position on his naked chest. It occurred to him that he was still only wearing the boxers he had gone to sleep in and was now all the way across the ship in Nami's room. Getting back to his room and his clothes was going to be awkward.

"Morning." Nami said her voice still thick with sleep.

She looked so adorable that all other thoughts vanished and he found himself smiling back at her. Instinctively he pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. The action was eerily familiar and last night's nightmare came flooding back including the pain that had been in her gaze. Her cries once again echoed in his head and he jumped out of her bed.

"I can't." Zoro whispered his voice cracking.

He didn't stick around to see her reaction or response and instead hightailed it out of the false security of her room.


	6. Words

_Sadly this is the last chapter... posting it already for you Galleta. That review deserves a reward._

**Words of Wisdom**

Zoro trained harder than ever ignoring Chopper's frantic cries and pleadings to stop. He trained and trained until the cries in his head were silenced but the second he stopped, the second he relaxed they came back and he would pick his weights back up. He knew what he was doing wasn't healthy and every muscle in his body was screaming in protest but he continued to swing the bar around.

He had been crazy to stay the night with Nami. Once he knew she was asleep he should have left, he never should have presented the false hope that spending the night was bound to show. Sweat was pouring down his face and there were even a few tears mingled in with them, not that he would admit to them. Nami's pained cry from his dream repeated in his mind. "Zoro... how could you?" sounding over and over again like a mantra keeping him from going to her. A soft knock against the wall drew him out of his own head and whipping around he cried out.

"I'm fine Chopper!"

Except it wasn't Chopper who was standing there, instead it was Luffy wearing an unusual sombre expression. Seeing the younger boy Zoro put down the weights and wiped his face with a towel. If Luffy was going to say something Zoro knew to listen. His captain usually let well enough alone and when he decided to interfere it was best to listen for the youngster had incredible insight especially when it came to his nakama.

"Most people think looking out for yourself and having to take care of yourself with no help is the hardest thing to do."

Zoro listened and waited for the boy to continue. He wasn't sure where Luffy was going with this but he had faith in his captain so he waited patiently.

"They're wrong. It is much harder to allow someone else to look after you."

They both sat there in silence as Zoro worked through Luffy's words. He knew the boy was right and he thought to the night before when Nami had allowed herself to ask for help, to ask him for comfort. He recognized the importance of it, what it had cost her to open herself to him like that but he still couldn't shake the fear that he would end up hurting her.

"She'll be better off without me." Zoro said softly.

"No she won't. Allow yourself to open up to her like she has, you'll be amazed."

Luffy left then leaving Zoro alone to ponder over this piece of advice. Zoro spent the entire afternoon in his training room not even emerging for lunch. He didn't pick his weights back up after Luffy left and instead simply sat there thinking things through and pondering Luffy's words. Finally he came to a decision and with that settled he fell into a dreamless slumber waking in time for dinner.

He kept to himself during the meal, focusing solely on the food on his plate. Once darkness fell he found Nami once again nestled in her tangerine grove and he approached her hesitantly. He quietly took a seat beside her, staring up at the moon. Zoro was thankful for the darkness; it made what he needed to say easier.

"I've been watching you for weeks trying to find out what was bothering you. I told myself it was because you were my nakama but I knew there was another reason it bothered me so much. When you told me you had fallen in love with me I realized the reason I cared so much was because I felt the same way. Despite the sincerity of my feelings for you I can't keep from being afraid because more than anything I am afraid of hurting you."

And so for the first time in his life Zoro admitted out loud a weakness. The entire time he had spoken he had kept his eyes fixed on the pale shimmering of the moon and he was startled to feel Nami's hand slip into his own. Her action drew his gaze to her face and she laughed lightly.

"Baka" she chided softly. "I'm scared too."

Nami's words calmed him immensely and he grinned sheepishly at her feeling incredibly foolish. He bent down and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. As he did so his nightmare flashed before his eyes again but this time he pushed it away not allowing it to get a grip on him. Zoro moved and pressed another soft kiss to her smiling lips. She kissed him back and he felt a calmness settle over him.

"Let's go to sleep." Nami whispered as they pulled apart.

Zoro nodded and allowed her to lead him to her room. He turned his back as she slipped into her pyjamas and crawled under the covers. Stripping down to his boxers he joined her under the covers, gasping as her cold feet brushed against his leg. She laughed softly and curled into him as she had done the night before. Once again Zoro waited until she was soundly asleep before drifting off himself.

Again he dreamt that he told Nami he loved her only to have ripped her still-beating heart out of her chest. Pain contorted in his chest as he looked at the palpitating organ gripped in his hand. As he stared at the gruesome sight he felt his body began to shake and slowly he was wrenched back into reality.

"Zoro. Zoro, are you okay?"

Zoro blinked his eyes to see Nami propped up and staring down at him concern etched into her features. He nodded lightly as his heart rate slowed back down taking a few deep breaths. Nami gently stroked the side of his face and leaned down to press a tender kiss to his lips. He clung to her as if to convince himself that she in fact alright and he hadn't hurt her. As she pulled back she smiled at him and he felt the same calming sensation from earlier wash over him.

"It's okay. I'm alright and we are going to be fine." She settled back against his chest wrapping an arm around him tightly. "We're going to get through this."

Nami said it with such sincerity that Zoro knew she was right. They were going to get through it and eventually the dreams would stop. Together they would make it leaning on each other. With that thought in mind they both drifted back to sleep tight in each other's embrace.


End file.
